As consumers evolve and their expectations change, the RV rental market is evolving as well to keep up with them, according to this report from the RV Industry Association.
Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Amazon – today’s consumers have become used to having much in their lives delivered to them. So, while counter intuitive, (isn’t RVing about hitting the open road?), it’s not surprising that RVers, particularly Millennials and Gen Zers, are now having RVs delivered to their travel destinations.
This is what RVshare has seen over the past year as their revenue for deliveries and set-ups at music festivals, college football weekends, state fairs, horse shows, beach visits, and other events has grown from 20% to 40% of their business.
“We think of it as providing a hotel anywhere,” said Maddi Bourgerie, Director of Communications and PR at RVshare. “This is a huge way for people to enter the RV space. It breaks down barriers and makes them more comfortable with renting. Our bookings for these have continued to increase. There’s been no plateau, yet.”
RVshare initially began offering deliveries and set-ups in late 2018, but like most others in the RV industry, business came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. Bookings dropped drastically according to Bourgerie, so the company partnered with a Facebook group called “RVs for MDs” during the early months of the pandemic. This provided thousands of RVs for front line workers who wanted to quarantine away from their families.
Things began to look up in May and by the end of the summer, RVshare had tripled their bookings from the previous year.
Click here to read the full report by the RV Industry Association.